With the significant donation from ADM Milling of 7 pallet loads of flour, over 60,000 loaves of bread and thousands of cakes are prepared and baked in eight ovens in cities and villages between Kherson and Kharkiv during 2024.
Ukraine is called the breadbasket of Europe. With the war, the whole supply chain for the resources to bake bread has been shattered. This has particularly been the case in the ‘zone of fire’, the front line between Ukrainian and Russian troops. In addition, the export market is now favoured over internal markets, as foreign exchange currency is sought to support the economy. These are the places where those who have not fled remain. The elderly, those without family, and those with no resources to flee the war.
This is the zone where the flour from ADM Milling creates bread that reaches out to forgotten people. The ‘daily bread’ brings food into a zone where it is lacking, but also brings hope to those who have been left behind. With bread from ADM Milling on the table at every meal, each bite of these free loaves brings nourishment and also encouragement that they are not forgotten.
Earlier this year, the latest lorry left the UK with the flour from ADM Milling aboard, destined for the Hands of Mercy Charitable Foundation in Chernivtsi, eastern Ukraine. There the supplies were offloaded into a forward operating base, for onward distribution by smaller lorries to the individual ovens. In total, 9 pallets of flour, mostly from ADM Milling, and 1 pallet of rapeseed oil, have made their way to the front line, through the bread ovens to the tables of the local population.
Commenting on the quality of the flour received, Emanuel Besleaga, Chair of the Hands of Mercy Foundation, said: “This flour is awesome! Such good flour is rarely found here! It is very good quality. Is there any more? We will make it last three months and make 20,320 loaves of bread each month and 3,000 cakes”.